Central Realty recommend that you use this guide to help navigate your home search, to become even more knowledgeable about what to look for in your ideal home, and, in the end, find the right property to purchase in 2018. Prior to hitting the market and checking out listings, you need to take care of some necessary tasks, including saving up plenty of money for a new home, enhancing your credit score, and getting pre-approved for a home loan.

First of all you should build up your savings. In New Zealand lenders nationwide continue to have stringent lending standards, meaning it takes significant amounts of capital for prospective borrowers to secure home loans. You need to focus on building wealth before even considering your home purchase, to ensure you have more than enough to convince lenders you’re ready to become a homeowner and handle the subsequent mortgage payments with ease.

Secondly, you need to improve your credit rating. Another factor lenders strongly take into consideration is the strength of potential borrowers’ credit rating. The math here is simple: The less outgoing debt, the better you look in the eyes of lenders. Doing things like paying all of your bills on time and in full, eliminating outstanding debts, and avoiding taking on new lines of credit can bolster your credit rating and enhance your odds of securing not only a home loan, but also favorable loan terms.

After getting all of your finances in order, it’s time to head to lenders to get pre- approved for a home loan. Whereas pre- qualification is an estimate of how much house you can afford, pre-approval is getting lenders to deem you worthy of receiving a mortgage.

Finally, you can begin your home search. You’ve completed all of the dirty work, and now, it’s your turn to actually begin the home search in earnest by checking out what listings are available in the area in which you intend to purchase a home. Having said that, it’s in your best interest to find an agent who knows the local real estate market well and has a proven track record of getting their clients into the right home that fits their budget and preferences.